10 Web Design Principles for Generating Leads

Would you consider buying a car that looked great…but didn’t run? You’d get lots of compliments from people passing by who saw it in your driveway… but it would never take you anywhere. If your web design is not attracting the right kind of visitors and converting them into leads, then it’s not taking you anywhere either. Here are 10 proven principles for web design that will get your motor running.

10 Web Design Principles for Generating Leads

1. Start with a Strategic Plan for Your Web Design

First, develop a Site Map. How will your web design flow? What pages will it include? Define your objectives clearly, and make sure every page or section relates directly to your goals. Examine the possible navigation/nurturing paths and create a written CTA Map (Calls To Action) to define probable paths that will lead your visitors to various actions.

2. Attract the Right Kind of Visitors

Implement SEO Best Practices using keyword enriched content so you can be found by the kind of visitors you want. Target keywords that indicate the user is seeking a solution you can offer, and give these visitors confirmation right away that they are in the right place by tailoring content to high-volume search terms.

3. Use Compelling & Easy-to-Read Content

Define your target personas, and develop a tone that makes sense for your audience. Relate to your target audience with a tone and personality that reflects their needs and their lifestyle. In your web design, create solution-based content that is formatted in easy-to-read chunks, with sub-headlines and bullet points. Avoid dumping text onto a page to communicate a complex idea. Use infographics or videos or other interactive media to keep things interesting.

4. Know Your Sales Funnel

Nurture your web visitors at the correct level of the sales funnel. There are basically four types of website visitors:

-Browsers
-Researchers
-Shoppers
-Buyers

Your web design content strategy needs to nurture each of them with content and CTAs at their respective levels. Browsers and Researchers want increasingly more specific information about solutions to their problems. They need to be educated. Shoppers and Buyers are past the education stage, but need comparative information that helps them make a decision or simply place an order.

5. Keep Navigation Simple

The less navigation required of your visitors the better. Be conscious of the number of steps your visitor must complete before achieving and objective, and simplify processes wherever possible. Use Landing Pages with limited navigation targeted at a single very specific level of visitor when possible.

6. Use CTA Common Sense

Make sure your web design includes CTAs “Above the Fold,” or in the most prominent places on your pages. Place relevant CTAs within your content at the right time to pull the trigger.

7. Pictures

Yes, they do speak a thousand words. Relevant pictures are attractive, memorable and create interest.

8. Testimonials

There is nothing more convincing than a sincere statement by an existing customer. Even a simple one or two line quote with only a first name helps, but first and last name and company name are better. A head shot picture of the customer gives the story even more credibility and a short video of the customer extolling your virtues is the ideal lead generating web design tool.

9. Videos

People like to have things explained to them. A simple but well produced video under 2 minutes in length engages visitors in a way printed words alone just cannot achieve.

10. Test and Adjust

Why one thing works and another doesn’t is often a marketing mystery, so test various options and keep stats on how well your web design converts. Try several versions of similar CTA’s and settle on the one that works the best.